E3 2010: Star Wars The Old Republic - A Smuggler's Run

If you weren't excited for BioWare's MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic yet, perhaps some of the new things I learned and experienced at E3 2010 will change your mind.

Every player, regardless of their chosen class, will get their own starship to command across the galaxy. Always dreamed of flying a Corellian vessel? Choose the Vanguard class when playing. Or maybe you've had some sort of sick dream where you gangster walk through the galaxy aboard an Imperial transport (if so, choose the Sith Fury class).

Of course, it would be pretty boring to have an entire galaxy packed with a handful of similar ships. To combat this, BioWare has created a robust customization package so that you can fully trick out your ship with premade gear sets or your own hand-picked items. Though BioWare isn't showing off the ships in action just yet, they assure us that there will be thousands of different variations so that each person can feel as if they have a unique vessel.

That same level of customization is also given to your character in the form of various PvP gear. Though you start out pretty basic in terms of gear, by completing PvP challenges (which BioWare isn't discussing yet), you earn new goods. Some of this stuff is cosmetic, some is highly functional and all of it seems to change based on class and race. In the example BioWare showed off, one bad ass ended up with a jetpack and devilish armor that made him look like Boba Fett spawned from Hell. In other words, you can build up your character to look more awesome than anything the Star Wars universe has seen before.

BioWare continues to insist that Old Republic can be played as a single-player game if you are the type who likes buying Massively Multiplayer games for the express purpose of not playing them correctly. However, the PvP rewards system is meant as encouragement for engaging with other players as often as possible. There will be other ways to earn gear, but it sounds like the quickest way to maximizing your get-up is by teaming up with other players (or shooting them in the face).

At E3 2010, BioWare offered up a half-dozen classes to try out, but I was immediately attracted to the Twi'lek smuggler, because I am a letch. But also, because the success of The Old Republic largely depends on the strength of the non-combat specialist classes. People will be drawn to play as the bounty hunter or the Sith Warrior, but if the smuggler and its ilk aren't fun, then the online balance weighs even more heavily towards just one or two classes. And that could very quickly spoil a promising MMO.

The smuggler is not the most combat savvy, but she's crafty. She uses cover to survive and has a set of available actions that better suit someone who can't overpower an enemy like a weapons-heavy bounty hunter. The cover system itself is basic. A green silhouette shows where you can take cover. And once in cover, you can use those icons to move from one spot to the next and eventually flank your enemies. Grenades and a rapid shot ability are key to taking down enemies without suffering too much damage. The smuggler is not a brute, so standing in the open taking pot shots is suicidal.

On the field of battle, the smuggler isn't useless by any means. And if you team up with more offensive-minded individuals, you can use cover to sneak to objectives or get the drop on protected enemies. But the smuggler's value will be more strongly felt outside of combat. After all, The Old Republic doesn't take place on one planet, but in a galaxy ripe for exploration. While the E3 demo didn't let us go off-world, obviously a smuggler will have some advantages aboard a ship that a Sith Inquisitor will not.

While you won't be Force-choking enemies or brandishing a lightsaber, combat for one of the least combat-focused classes is fun. As long as BioWare balances any combat deficiencies with some other benefits--better ship, more useful conversation options, etc.--plenty of people will be giving the smuggler class a go. And that can only help The Old Republic to succeed.